The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1887-10-13
The King of Cattle Buyers.

NESS, s0BRIETY AND FAIR DEALINGS. CHIPS
OF THE OLD BLOCK.
recent issue of the Boston Globe contains
M interview with Hon. I. G. Libby of Burn
ham, as follows: A Globe representative today
ra:, across one of the most interesting men i'm
Maine, and who Is known in every Maine town
from klttcry to Fort Kent. lie was not brought
into prominence by political activity. or any of
the other numerous causes which 80 to make Il
Name man we'll known in his own State. but
he has become famous As ii cattle drover and
buyer The gentleman referred to is |. c.
Libby, who has sold more New England cattle
In the Brighton market than any other dealer
who ever did business at that famous place.
Mr.. Libby is rushing. shrewd and altogether
u genuine specimen of Il Yankee farmer and
tlrover. lie has made up to this date. over
200 trips to Brighton, has sold considerably
more than 100000 cattle in that market ant!
more than three times that number of sheep. For
these he has received over s. 900 900, and the
railroads are the richer through freight paid by
him to the extent of more than Il quarter of a
million.
MIR. Libby is over 80 years of age, but does
not look 40 His smooth, good-natured face
active movements and great endurance would
lead one to he greatly deceived in regard to his
age.
NV hat was the commencement OF YOUR i'm
lleDse cattle business, Mr.. Lbby?' asked the
reporter.
That is easily answered. said the cattle
king. "When was Is years Of age lived on
my fathers farm in Troy | was sick and lame
and could not work daily in the fields. One
day Il sheep buyer came along aud bought ii
dozen lambs from my father at SO apiece. |
watched the operation. and thought If he could
buy them for 50 and make money ought to be
able to 30 into the same business and do well.
for could buy equally good ones in the same To-
cality for $3.50. Well. | continued to weigh
this scheme until finally borrowed 500 fmv
father as starter, and then travelled afoot and
bought 300 lambs at 500 each, agreeing to
take them in the fall, five months later. Then
to my great delight. there came i treat rise.
and in October. when | went after the lambs,
| paid each farmer % cents more than agreed
and then cleared $500
This great luck excited me and continued
the business. In 1877, two years later, and
when nothing more than a green boy. made
my first trip to Brighton. This was great
event in my life. | worked 10 days harder
than | ever have worked since and landed ut
the great cattle market with 100 lambs and ~
head of cattle. But | lost $50 of har,-carned
money and all my work wa, Tot di~cour-
aged, and ever since then has found ne regu-
lary 1t the Brighton market
81 buy my cattle now. continued Mr. libby
"in Maine. New Brunswick. Nova Scotia and
Prince Edward Island. and | send 100 head Of
cattle and 1000 sheep per week to the market.
hundreds Oh commission. Every animal 5oe~
in by rail over the Boston 4 Maine and is sold
ON Tuesday. Every Monday | 90 to the mar
ket and the past 10 years has found me rs reg
ular as clockwork in this regard. | am never
sick and my only breaks have been made when
! served two terms III the LEGISLATURE.
Nv nat changes do you notice. from the con-
clifton of the Maine farms. when You first
commenced bu>ne>>:' asked the reporter.
That one question suggests pleMtyof ideas, =
was the reply. The Maine farmer has made
much progress. He is entirely unlike the
farmer of 1857. He is more wealthy, lives in
Il more comfortable, slightly house. and, above
all, has far advanced in ideas. On The Maine
farms at present you call tind some Of the
greatest minds in tie Pine Tree State. His
Provincial neighbour on the contrary. has taken
slight step backward. He is poor and has II
hard time 10 make both ends meet. Under
these circumstances. he has had no chance to
improve his mind. The tariff is death TO the
New Brunswick farmer. For example, on
our side Of the line, we pay $500 for lambs,
While few steps away the farmer gets but s..
because Of our duty. 1t is a great thing for
the Yankee but hard on the Provincial, whom
1t costs exactly as much to live
But to return to live stock business. Twenty
Years ago | engaged i'll an operation which
made great noise in the public press. | pur-
chased, up in northern Maine and New Bruins
wick. Il drove of 400 sheep. footed them to
Mattawamkca@, which was then the terminal
point of the railroad, and shipped them to
Boston This was noticed in the papers, as
the most extensive operation in stock ever
carried on in the East. | was four weeks in
collecting the uroNt. a short time AGO one of
the greatest dealers III Boston wrot, me that
he was about to send West for - double deck
loads of sheep, to be delivered within 4 week.
| asked him to buy them of me, and while eN-
pressing doubt as to whether there We're a,
many sheep in Maine. he allowed ne to 20
ahead lhrnIlph lJ>n nj En wi i,i la,
hard work of my agents. We shipped during
the week 23 double deckload>. or 1900 sheep
In striking contrast to the operation of wears
ago. this hardly attracted notice.
The largest weeks loss ever made was in
1870, when cot ten carloads of fine stock into
Brighton just in time to meet the fatal foot and
mouth disease, which was making its appear
ance there. In six days | lost sl500. Ny
largest weeks profits We're made in 1SS2. when
W. Z. Hollis. Of Boston, teiegraphed me to buy
every good OK that could and send al once.
succeeded i'll sending l64 in three days at a cost
Of $4,000. They sold at the great price of
IL IL cents. dressed weight, and | received Il
check for Sl6,f04. making my net profits for the
three days S1.4li.
Il have brought my soli> up to this business.
and they are among the best cattle buyers in the
State. One lives al lIoulton and another at
Pressure Isle. both OF them are buyers. a third
who is not Is wears Old. is down in Prince Ed
ward Island where he is noted buyer. Last
night | counted ont : 600 to a fourth boy. who
is only II years old, and he started out for the
kennebec region to battle among the men.
have no fears even for the younger ones. for
they are as good judges of stock as any of the
veteran buyers.
"Thc Maine droNer of the present." said Mr.
Libby. lis far ahead of his brother of twenty
or even ten years ago. They used to he a
worthless. drunken set, but now the men are
sober. industrious, have good regulations at the
market, and all of them are doing well. 1t has
been the custom at Brighton, ever since its
first years, for the man who was conceded to
have the best Of Il trade to treat. have bought
rum enough III the course of my many wears
there to float mal-of-war, but never tasted a
drop. 10 that fact, believe, owe my sue
in the market. A man wants to Keep a
clear head when he is selling pen of cattle by
the pound, and Il change of an eighth of cent
means a total change of &400 or $500 The
droyers of the past have all died poor and in
old age. You never knew an unhealthy one
and rs Mr.. Libby made this statement and
walked brskly away it was plain that there
was no need to look In his direction for poor
health.
Paine and Burgess.